Wyoming seeks ‘stable token’ commission head in first steps to establish state stablecoin
The state seeks someone with connections and expertise in the blockchain industry, promising a $150,000 annual salary.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By David Attlee | júl 25, 2023 | 0 |
The state seeks someone with connections and expertise in the blockchain industry, promising a $150,000 annual salary.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Ana Paula Pereira | jún 9, 2023 | 0 |
Digital asset bank Custodia sued the Fed in June 2022, claiming an “unlawful delay” in processing an application for its master account.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Turner Wright | apr 11, 2023 | 0 |
“The State of Wyoming believes that this changes the tenor of the suit and in turn questions the legitimacy and viability of the State’s statutory framework,” said AG Bridget Hill.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By David Attlee | mar 20, 2023 | 0 |
A week after the twinning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, and the trouble at Credit Suisse, the dust is slowly settling down.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Guest Author | mar 14, 2023 | 0 |
Wyoming’s new law ensures that courts won’t overstep their authority in requiring individuals to disclose their private keys.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan | jún 8, 2022 | 0 |
Wyoming based digital asset bank Custodia is suing the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, claiming an “unlawful delay” in processing an application for its master account.Custodia, formerly known as Avanti was one of the first Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs) also known as “blockchain banks” made under a Wyoming regulatory framework.The bank was founded by Caitlin Long, an early advocate of Bitcoin (BTC) who established the institution in 2020 to provide accounts for crypto companies and serve as a bridge for them to the U.S. dollar payment system.Custodia submitted an application for a Federal Reserve master account 19 months ago in October 2020. The account would allow Custodia to access the Federal Reserves payment systems without using a third party bank.Nathan Miller a spokesperson for Custodia Bank told Cointelegraph:“Through this lawsuit, Custodia seeks to ensure that its Federal Reserve master account application receives the fair dealing and due process guaranteed to it by both federal statute and the U.S. Constitution. Custodia has satisfied every rule applicable to it, and has gone beyond by applying to become a Fed member bank.”The suit claims the Federal Reserve violated a United Stated Code which outlines a one-year deadline for processing the application and says that it even states on the master account application that a decision takes five to seven business days.The Fed’s Kansas City bank was ready to approve the account before the Federal Reserve Board asserted control over the process in spring 2021 which “derailed” the application, Custodia says.Custodia states that the “black-box bureaucratic process” meant it had exhausted “all options short of litigation” and it sought to compel the Federal Reserve and its Kansas City bank to approve its master account within 30 days.Custodia plans to provide final settlement for U.S. dollar payments in digital asset transactions, along with providing digital asset custodial services. A key part of its service is to clear payments for its customers directly with the Fed which it says will reduce costs, counterparty credit risk and delays in settlement.The delay has postponed Custodia’s full entry to the market and forced the bank to partner with another bank that already has a master account. It says this is a “makeshift solution” that is “second best and far more expensive”.Related: Fed governor explains who needs crypto regulation and why demand for it is growingIf Custodia wins the suit or is granted a Fed master account, it will be the first digital asset bank in the country to secure one.In December 2021 the Republican senator for Wyoming Cynthia Lummis claimed the Fed was “violating the law” with its unfair treatment of SPDIs like Custodia through delaying applications to receive master accounts.SPDIs were created from a Wyoming regulatory framework for cryptocurrency custody introduced in late 2019 to serve businesses unable to secure Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) banking services due to their dealings with cryptocurrency.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Turner Wright | mar 1, 2022 | 0 |
The State of Wyoming has approved California-based crypto broker SFOX for a trust charter, allowing the firm to provide custodial and other crypto-related services to institutional clients.In a Tuesday announcement, SFOX said the Wyoming trust charter will allow the firm to operate in the state as the SAFE Trust Company, offering services to institutional clients, private clients, and advisers. According to the company, SAFE will “serve in a variety of fiduciary roles” including direct trustee, discretionary trustee, trust advisor, and protector.“The new charter will enable us to provide secure, reliable and efficient investment, trading, and custodian services for a wide range of digital assets, meeting the needs of investors, particularly small-to-mid-sized firms, which until now have had limited access to these investments,” said SAFE CEO and SFOX co-founder Akbar Thobhani. “Our mission is to provide greater access to a broad range of digital assets in a fashion that is both secure and efficient.”Excited to be the first crypto firm approved to serve as a Wyoming trust, and be part of the movement towards responsible crypto regulation spearheaded by @CynthiaMLummis and @WYLegislature Read more about our news here: https://t.co/H9j7eI7ERr— SFOX (@SFox) March 1, 2022Under the trust charter, SFOX said it would offer services to clients seeking investment opportunities in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX) and other tokens, custodying the digital assets in accordance with Wyoming’s regulatory framework. SAFE said it planned to get approval from the state’s banking regulator “to operate as an independent, regulated, qualified custodian of digital assets.”Wyoming has often been at the forefront of a state-focused approach to digital asset regulation since granting crypto exchange Kraken a bank charter in September 2020. Following that decision, the state has gone on to elect its own crypto-friendly U.S. senator, Cynthia Lummis, as well as having its lawmakers introduce legislation recognizing DAOs as distinct limited liability companies and proposing the state treasurer have the authority to issue a stablecoin.Related: Wyoming’s state stablecoin: Another brick in the wall?Founded in 2014, SFOX is backed by firms including the Digital Currency Group, Blockchain Capital, Y Combinator, and Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczy. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that a group of engineers and traders at the firm were planning to expand access to a BTC derivative product through non-deliverable forward contracts.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Kirill Bryanov | feb 21, 2022 | 0 |
Amid the barrage of last week’s regulatory news, from rumors of Joe Biden’s upcoming executive order on digital assets to another round of the Russian government’s crypto tug of war, the storyline that was arguably the most consequential for the mainstream narrative on the social effects of crypto has been the one around the Canadian government’s standoff with the Freedom Convoy. The government’s invocation of emergency powers to put down a protest movement — combined with the movement’s financial infrastructure being one of the main attack vectors — has led many observers to appreciate with renewed vigor Bitcoin’s capacity to resist state financial censorship. If a government as “civilized” as Canada’s can arbitrarily cut off a group it doesn’t like from the financial system, then any state can potentially do the same to any group, the argument goes. While there is, as always, much more nuance to this situation. What matters is a simple, digestible notion with which the global audience walks away from the shocking news. So far, the main takeaway seems to be this: Financial censorship is scary, but crypto offers a way around it.Canada: Not so polite anymoreA series of protests and blockades against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Canada has been ongoing since mid-January 2022. By mid-February, the impediment of transport infrastructure and general economic and social costs of the unrest have led the Trudeau government to consider extreme measures, such as the invocation of the never-before-used Emergencies Act to suppress the protests. The measures included broadening the scope of Terrorist Financing rules, specifically targeting payment service providers and crowdfunding platforms that the protestors used. By that time, the Freedom Convoy had amassed a sizeable bag of crypto donations, which the government proclaimed fair game as well.Jesse Powell, co-founder and CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, condemned the government’s actions but said that if told to freeze assets by police extrajudicially, the platform would “probably consent.” Powell also advised anyone concerned about government overreach to move their funds away from centralized custodians and trade peer-to-peer:100% yes it has/will happen and 100% yes, we will be forced to comply. If you’re worried about it, don’t keep your funds with any centralized/regulated custodian. We cannot protect you. Get your coins/cash out and only trade p2p.— Jesse Powell (@jespow) February 18, 2022Many of those who condemned the government’s actions as overreach admitted that they were not particularly sympathetic to the protestors’ core message — which is unsurprising given the general unpopularity of anti-vax views among Twitter intellectuals. The general sentiment of the crypto folk, however, was largely in line with the maxim “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”BlockFi: $100 million for a chance to complyAmong the two dominant approaches to financial regulation, thorough rulemaking is costlier than regulation by enforcement. Laying down a comprehensive set of rules takes foresight and a ton of research. The alternative is sketching general boundaries of what is allowed and what isn’t, letting industry participants figure out more specific rules by trial and error. The crypto lending industry has just completed its most expensive trial to date, as BlockFi, one of the leading names in the sector, agreed to pay $100 million to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and 32 state attorneys general.Previously operating in a gray regulatory zone, the firm has paid a hefty sum to be told what exactly was wrong with its bestselling product, the high-yield BlockFi Interest Account. Having received a few pointers, it will have 60 days to bring the offering in line with the Investment Company Act. BlockFi has already announced plans to roll out its new SEC-compliant lending product, BlockFi Yield. In the next few months, we will find out whether the reward that the company will end up reaping was worth the heavy penalty.Bills keep comingLast week in the U.S., federal and state lawmakers alike were hard at work drafting crypto-related bills. Congressperson Warren Davidson introduced the bill titled “Keep Your Coins” to the House. Coming days after the invocation of the Emergencies Act in Canada, the bill proposes to bar U.S. federal agencies from restricting individuals’ crypto transactions and purchase of goods and services for their own use. Representative Josh Gottheimer proposed a nuanced framework for regulating stablecoins, the Stablecoin Innovation and Protection Act. Under the proposed legislation, so-called qualified stablecoins, backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in a way similar to fiat deposits, would be exempt from both securities and commodities regulation. Meanwhile, a group of Wyoming lawmakers proposed authorizing the state to issue its own U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. At the same time, the Georgia House of Representatives will consider a bill that would exempt crypto miners in the state from sales tax.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Turner Wright | feb 18, 2022 | 0 |
Four members of the Wyoming Legislature have sponsored a bill which would allow the state treasurer to issue a stablecoin.On Thursday, Wyoming State Senators Chris Rothfuss and Tara Nethercott with House Representatives Jared Olsen and Mike Yin introduced Senate File SF0106, titled the “Wyoming Stable Token Act.” If signed into law, the bill would authorize the treasurer to issue a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin redeemable for fiat held in an account by the state. The state treasurer — Curtis Meier at the time of publication — would consult with the department’s Investment Funds Committee and have the authority to hire “accountants, auditors, consultants and other experts” to issue the coins, as well as stipulate limitations and rules. State officials would have until Dec. 31 to issue the stablecoin, with the option to submit a report by Nov. 1 if such an offering were determined to be “incompatible federal or state law.”Caitlin Long, CEO of Avanti Financial — which is headquartered in Wyoming — weighed in on the legislation, saying there were pros and cons to the bill, but it was “definitely a conversation-starter” for lawmakers exploring stablecoins. Long has previously described stablecoins as “very important bridges between crypto and the U.S. dollar” in need of regulatory clarity.“It’s a mind-bender,” said Long in reference to the proposed stablecoin. “Akin to a muni bond that neither pays interest nor has a maturity date but is redeemable — except it isn’t exactly that bc, as a token, there would be big legal & structural/settlement differences.”NEWS–bipartisan group of top #Wyoming legislators proposed a bill for State of Wyoming to issue a #stablecoin, 100% backed by USTreasuries, where the State keeps the float. I see pros & cons (didn’t know it was coming) but❤️that Wyoming continues to explore cool #crypto ideas! https://t.co/BXbELukUQE— Caitlin Long ⚡️ (@CaitlinLong_) February 17, 2022Rothfuss chairs Wyoming’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology, a group formed in May 2020 to examine crypto and blockchain developments and able to sponsor related legislation. Since taking office, Nethercott, Olsen, Rothfuss, and other Wyoming lawmakers previously sponsored a bill suggesting cryptocurrencies be exempt from state property taxes and two others on tokenization and issues with compliance.Related: Wyoming’s crypto-friendly bill could be a sandbox in action, Sen. Lummis saysWyoming has often been at the forefront of a state-centered approach to crypto regulation with many pieces of legislation seemingly favorable to the space and a U.S. Senator who holds Bitcoin (BTC), Cynthia Lummis. Kraken became the first crypto business to receive a Wyoming bank charter in September 2020, with the State Banking Board later approving a charter for Avanti.As of Feb. 17, the Wyoming Stable Token Act has been sent to the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee. Cointelegraph reached out to Wyoming State Senator Chris Rothfuss, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Čítaj viacpodľa Cointelegraph By Keira Wright | dec 2, 2021 | 0 |
Republican senator for Wyoming Cynthia Lummis has argued that the Federal Reserve is “violating the law” by delaying the processing of applications from crypto-native banks to receive accounts at the central bank.In a Nov. 30 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Lummis claimed that the Fed was treating the Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs), also known as ‘blockchain banks’, in her home state unfairly. She called on her Republican colleagues to withhold support for Fed chair Jay Powell who was reappointed by President Biden on Nov. 23.In Feb. 2019, Wyoming state legislature approved SPDIs to serve businesses unable to secure banking services from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) due to their dealings with crypto. In 2020, two Wyoming SPDIs Kraken and Avanti received their bank charters. Shortly after, they applied for master accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Their applications are yet to be approved. The state has been in discussions whether SPDIs should be considered banks under federal law. In the article, Lummis claimed that SPDIs should, “without a doubt,” be considered banks under federal law and that “Wyoming checked every box.” She added that SPDIs meet the standard set by Congress in the Federal Reserve Act for what constitutes a bank. She said that “in fact the Fed is violating the law by delaying” issuing the SPDIs approval, citing federal courts which have stated that the Fed “has a duty to give payment system access to all banks and credit unions conducting legal activities.”Related: ‘Thank God for Bitcoin,’ Cynthia Lummis says on US debt limit raiseOn Oct. 7, Lummis filed documents revealing that she had purchased an unknown amount of Bitcoin (BTC) on Aug. 16 worth somewhere between $50,001 and $100,000. Lummis made the purchase less than two weeks after she and other senators attempted to gain support for a pro-crypto amendment into President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.
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